Page 45 of Heartless Sinner

“Nothing. They left after they discovered the chip was blank and threw me out. I never got paid.”

He stares at me, long and hard and daunting. I expect him to say something more, but all he does is watch me.

“I don’t know anything else,” I mumble. “If I did, I’d tell you.”

“I don’t doubt that,Scarlett. There’s just one more thing I want to know.”

“What?”

“Why’d you spend the night with me? Why would you do that when you had one hell of a mission to accomplish?”

Good question. Anyone watching from the outside would think I was crazy.

Who would take time out to have a one-night stand when they’re supposed to steal from a mafia boss? Me.

Why?

I knew the answer the moment I agreed to let him have me.

I wanted a break. A break from life that only he could give me.

But I won’t tell him that. That’s a secret I want to keep locked away in my heart. Everything else has already been tainted. Why do more damage and make myself look more like a fool?

“I don’t know,” I decide to say.

He brushes his nose over mine and gives me a full-blown smile. “That’s the first lie you’ve told me, Scarlett. Tell me the truth.”

My breath hitches and I gaze back at him wishing I could disappear into the wall. “Just leave me alone.” My plea sounds so juvenile, like something you’d say to the playground bully, but those spineless words are the only fight I’ve got left in me.

“No, bellezza.”

The endearment takes me back to that night again and I wish it didn’t.

A tear tracks down my cheek and I wish I could stop the next one that follows.

He wipes it from my cheek with his thumb and I wish he wouldn’t touch me.

Something dark flashes in his eyes that holds me in place, and suddenly, the air between us feels charged with energy and danger.

Before my next thought can form, his mouth crashes down on mine, numbing me from head to toe.

The kiss is filled with possession, punishment, and promise all at once. It steals my senses, robbing me of thought.

His hand fists in my hair, holding me still as he claims my mouth like he owns it. Like he ownsme. Even if I weren’t chained to the wall, I wouldn’t be able to move.

My lips burn, my mind spins, my chest tightens. Then he pulls back, leaving me breathless and gasping and stunned.

With his eyes still on me, he reaches up to my hands and surprises me further by unlocking the chains. They fall away from my wrists with a clunk against the wall that echoes through the room.

My arms drop to my sides, burning as the blood rushes back into them.

"Go," he says. My breath hitches.

“You’re letting me go?” I’m so shocked all I can do is stare at him, uncomprehending.

"Go, before I change my mind." He steps back, giving me room to leave

"My father?—"

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